A consortium of leading scientific and global public health organizations including Cochrane have issued a collective statement reaffirming the safety and effectiveness of childhood vaccination, including the combined measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine and its individual components.
The statement, initiated by the World Health Summit Academic Alliance together with international partners, underscores the extensive scientific evidence supporting childhood vaccination and calls for health decisions to be guided by transparent, rigorous, and independent evidence.
Vaccines have saved millions of lives
"Childhood vaccination is one of humanity’s greatest public health achievements. Across generations, vaccines have saved millions of lives, prevented lifelong disability, and helped communities around the world thrive," the statement says.
It also reaffirms the evidence on the safety and effectiveness of the MMR vaccine: "The combined measles, mumps, and rubella vaccine is among the best-studied vaccines in modern medicine. Decades of research involving millions of children across many countries have consistently shown that it is safe, effective, and provides strong protection against three serious infectious diseases."
The collective statement is issued by representatives of leading scientific and global public health organizations and networks worldwide:
- Professor Axel Radlach Pries, for the World Health Summit Academic Alliance
- Professor Heidi Larson, for The Vaccine Confidence Project
- Professor Hung Yi Chiou, Asia Pacific Academic Consortium for Public Health
- Professor John Middleton, Global Network for Academic Public Health (GNAPH)
- Dr Karla Soares-Weiser, for Cochrane
- Professor Vicharn Panich, for Prince Mahidol Award Conference (PMAC)
Background
The statement is issued against the backdrop of changes in the immunisation policy in the United States last week and continued measles outbreaks in the United States and other countries.
Measles, mumps, and rubella remain preventable diseases, but they have not disappeared. Declining vaccination coverage increases the risk of outbreaks and leaves infants, people with weakened immune systems, and others who cannot be fully protected through vaccination at greater risk. Recent outbreaks in several countries underscore the consequences of falling vaccination coverage.
The signatories reaffirm their shared commitment to ensuring access to safe and effective vaccines and to providing parents and caregivers with clear, evidence-based information to support informed decisions for their families.
Read the full statement Read the Cochrane review on the MMR vaccine